Device for operating switches



April 15 1969 A. R. cow Al. ET

DEVICE FOR OPERATING SWITCHES Filed May 18, 1967 Fig.2.

INVENTORS. Alexander R. Covva/ Gary L. Sams W/W/am H. Sol/[e BY ,QM,

ORNEYS.

United States Patent DEVICE FOR OPERATING SWITCHES Alexander R. Cowal, 4601 13th St. NW. 44708; Gary L. Sams, 1215 19th St. NW. 44709; and William H. SrLllie, 955 Briarview Ave. NW. 44720, all of Clinton, 0 i0 Filed May 18, 1967, Ser. No. 639,342

Int. Cl. F1611 7/00; E04b 1/58; B25g 3/36 US. Cl. 287104 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tubular guide projects from the enclosure of a switching assembly in surrounding relationship to a switch actuator shaft extending through the enclosure. A stationary tube is keyed at one end thereof to the guide and is provided with an indicator plate spaced from the guide. A switching rod is inserted within the tube and into engagement with the actuator shaft to rotate the latter, the rod being provided with a dial plate that cooperates with the indicator on the tube to inform the operator of the position of the actuator shaft, i.e., the electrical switching condition of the switch assembly. Interengageable parts on the rod and the shaft may be interlocked by manipulating the rod, but only when proper alignment of the indicating plates is effected. Switch operation from a remote operating location is thus achieved with assurance that the indication of the switch position is correct.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a device for remotely operating an actuator at an inaccessible location, and which is capable of indicating the operative position of the actuator from the remote operating site.

As as corollary to the foregoing object, it is an important aim of the instant invention to provide a device as aforesaid which is particularly adapted for use as a switching tool to operate inaccessible switch gear located at or beneath ground level, such as an enclosed switching assembly or a switch which is part of a transformer installed in a vault.

Another important object of the instant invention is to provide such a switching device which may be rapidly installed and operated at the switching site, and which is provided with means to positively insure that indications of switch positions, after installation of the device, are accurate at all times.

A further and important object of the invention is to provide a switching device as aforesaid that requires minimum personnel for operation thereof and which may be rapidly installed and utilized at a switching site and subsequently removed with minimum effort for later use at other sites as required.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the device showing the same in place on a switch enclosure;

FIG, 2 is an enlarged, longitudinal sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, cross'sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

A switch enclosure has a switching assembly 12 therein provided with a rotatable actuator shaft 14 projecting upwardly from enclosure 10. A tubular guide 16 surrounds actuator shaft 14 and is secured to enclosure 10 3,438,662 Patented Apr. 15, 1969 in concentric relationship thereto, as by welding the lower end of guide 16 directly to the enclosure 10.

An elongated tube 18 has a normally uppermost, electrically nonconductive section 20 and a normally lowermost, metallic section 22, the sections 26 and 22 being joined together in end-to-end relationship by a coupling 24. Section 20 is composed of a fiber glass reinforced, synthetic resin material to provide structural strength as well as impart the desired insulating properties thereto. Section 22 has three slots 26 in its lower end, the slots 26 being circumferentially spaced at angular intervals of 90 and The slots 26 receive three keys 28 extending radially inwardly from guide 16, the keys 28 being in the form of rivets having shanks which project through the wall of guide 16.

A switching rod in the form of an elongated, rotatable member 30 is positioned within tube 18 and is composed of a structurally strong, synthetic resin material except for certain metallic fittings to be described. Member 30 has a tubular, fiber glass reinforced wall 32 filled with a core 34 of solidified, unicellular foam resin. The details of the composition of member 30 are set forth in Pink, US. Letters Patent No. 2,997,529, entitled Electrical Insulating Rod, granted Aug. 22, 1961.

A sleeve 36 abuts the normally lowermost end of member 30 and is rigidly secured thereto by a tubular coupling 38 into which member 30 and sleeve 36 are telescoped. An insert 40 is received within the lowermost end of tubular wall 32 and projects downwardly therefrom into sleeve 36, a pair of cross pins 42 through coupling 38 serving to secure member 30, insert 40, and sleeve 36 together as a unit. Insert 40 has a downwardly projecting locking part 44 which is engageable with an upwardly projecting locking part 46 integral with actuator shaft 14.

The normally uppermost end of tube section 20 has an annular plate 48 secured thereto in radially outwardly extending relationship to section 20, the plate 48 having an internal diameter somewhat less than the internal diameter of section 20 as is clear in FIGS. 4 and 5. The inner, circular edge 50 of plate 48 has four equally spaced notches 52 therein. A transparent, annular plate 54 overlies plate 48 and has an internal diameter greater than plate 48 to provide clearance for notches 52. Decals on the upper surface of plate 48 are clearly visible through the transparent plate 54 and represent a main line to be switch (indicia 56) and a tap line represented by the line symbol 58.

A collar 60 (FIGS. 4 and 5) is rigidly secured to member 30 and has an outwardly extending, annular flange 62 at its upper end over which a transparent, annular plate 64 is disposed. Flange 62 is employed as a dial plate, a decal on the upper surface of flange 62 being visible through transparent plate 64. The decal provides a representation 66 of a circuit configuration (FIG. 3) which cooperates with indicia 56 and symbol 58 to indicate the position of switch actuator 14. A guide component 68 in the from of an outwardly projecting rib is spaced below flange 62 and projects outwardly from collar 60.

The normally uppermost end of member 30 is provided with a cap 70 which supports a pair of handles 72 mounted on the cap by pivot pins 74. The broken line illustration of one of the handles 72 in FIG. 1 illustrates that the handles 72 may be folded or collapsed by swing ing the same around pins 74.

In use, assuming that switch enclosure 10 is located in a vault, tube 18 is inserted into the vault through an aperture in the cover thereof (not shown) or inserted .into the vault after removal of the cover. The lowermost extremity of metal tube section 22 is telescoped into guide 16 and tube 18 is manipulated until the tube is fully seated in guide 16. This occurs, of course, when the three keys 28 are aligned with corresponding slots 26.

Member 30 isv then inserted into tube 18 to telescope sleeve 36 over actuator shaft 14. Unless proper rotative alignment of member 30 and shaft 14 is initially achieved, the operator will rotate member 30 to bring component 68 into successive alignment with notches 52 until component 68 is received by one of the notches 52, indicating that locking parts 44 and 46 are properly interenga-ged as illustrated in FIG. 2. When this occurs, component 68 falls through the proper notch 52 and clears plate 48 as shown in FIG. 5. Sleeve 36 not only serves as a guide in inserting member 30, but also holds the interengaged parts 44 and 46 interlocked when member 30 is in place.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that keys 28 must be properly positioned in guide 16 in accordance with the various positions of actuator shaft 14. The orientation of indicator plates 48 and 62, together with the alignment of component 68 with locking part 44, is then selected to assure that locking parts 44 and 46 will properly interengage and that the switch positions indicated will correctly correspond to the actual switching condition. The switching position indicated in FIG. 3 illustrates that a circuit is made by switching assembly 12 establishing continuity in the main line and connecting the latter with the tap line.

The various positions of actuator shaft 14 are at 90 rotative intervals; thus, a 90 rotation of member 30 in a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4) breaks the circuit to the right-hand extension of the main line, a 90 counterclockwise rotation of member 30 breaks the circuit to the left-hand extension of the main line, and rotation through an angle of 180 disconnects the tap from the main line. Due to the 90 spacing of notches 52, member 30 can be removed from tube 18 only when component 68 is aligned with one of the notches 52, thereby precluding inadvertent removal of member 30 before shaft 14 is fully rotated to a selected position.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that member 30 effectively becomes an extension of actuator shaft 14 which may be rapidly positioned to operate shaft 14 and then quickly removed by simply withdrawing member 30 through tube 18. Manifestly, the tube 18 is removed by withdrawing the same from guide 16 after removal of member 30.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a rotatable switch actuator, a device for operating the latter comprising:

an elongated tube adapted for rigid mounting at one end thereof in surrounding relationship to said actuator;

a first plate secured to the tube at its opposite end;

an elongated member rotatable in said tube and extending through said plate outwardly beyond said opposite end of the tube;

a second plate secured to the member exteriorly of the tube adjacent the first plate;

interen-gageable components on the member and on said first plate for supporting the member when the latter is in a first predetermined position relative to the tube;

cooperable parts on the actuator and on the member adapted to interlock upon shifting of the member to a second predetermined position relative to the tube where said components are disengaged; and

means on the plates for indicating the rotative position of said actuator when said parts are interlocked.

2. In combination with a movable actuator, a device for remotely operating the actuator comprising:

a tubular guide disposed in surrounding relationship to said actuator;

an elongated tube on said guide,

said tube and said guide having respective relatively telescoped portions and being provided with interengageable means keying the tube to the predetermined position;

an elongated member adapted for connection with said actuator and shiftable in the tube for imparting movement to the actuator when connected with the latter and during shifting of the member; and

relatively adjacent elements on the member and on the tube each having means thereon indicating the position of the member relative to the tube.

3. The invention of claim 2,

said portion of the guide being provided with a key,

said portion of the tube defining one end thereof,

said end being slotted and receiving said key.

4. In combination with a rotatable switch actuator, a

device for operating the latter comprising:

an elongated tube adapted for rigid mounting at one end thereof with said actuator extending thereinto;

a first plate extending outwardly from said tube transversely thereof at its opposite end;

an elongated, longitudinally shiftable member in said tube rotatable therewithin and extending therefrom through said opposite end thereof;

a second plate secured to said member adjacent said first plate;

cooperable parts on said actuator and said member interlocking upon movement of the member to a predetermined position relative to the tube where said parts are in engagement; and

means on the plates for indicating the rotative position of the actuator when said parts are interlocked.

5. In combination with a movable actuator, a device for remotely operating the actuator comprising:

a guide adjacent said actuator;

an elongated tube mounted on said guide at one end of the tube,

said tube and said guide being provided with interengageable means keying the tube to the guide in a predetermined position;

an elongated member adapted for connection with said actuator and shiftable in the tube for imparting movement to the actuator when connected with the latter and during shifting of the member; and

relatively adjacent elements on the member and on the tube each having means thereon indicating the position of the member relative to the tube, and hence the position of said actuator.

6. The invention of claim 5,

said actuator and said member being rotatable; and

cooperable parts on the actuator and the member interlocking upon insertion of the member into the tube through its opposite end and movement of the member toward said one end of the tube to a predetermined disposition relative to the tube where said parts are in engagement, and unlocking upon withdrawal of the member from the tube longitudinally thereof in a direction away from said one end.

7. The invention of claim 6;

and means on the tube preventing said withdrawal of the member and unlocking of said parts except at predetermined rotational positions of the member in guide in a the tube.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,580,541 4/1926 Sherman 28593 X 1,802,913 4/1931 Ford. 1,997,431 4/1935 Penick et a1. 28593 X 2,315,414 3/1943 Germany 287104 2,418,298 4/1947 French 28593 EDWARD C. ALLEN, Primary Examiner.

W. L. SHEDD, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 116--124; 200-172 

